Way Away
by VampirePrincess612
Summary: “I was getting tired of living life in the castle. It was the same thing everyday. There was no adventure anymore. I guess that’s why I decided to leave…”
1. Missing

**Summary**: **"I was getting tired of living life in the castle. It was the same thing everyday. There was no adventure anymore. I guess that's why I decided to leave…"**

**Disclaimer: Okay…I admit it…all characters in this story belong to Squaresoft. Except Hiryuu…I made him up. **

**Rated: T for language and violence. **

Ch. 1

**Zidane POV**

I walked into Dagger's room during the night, when she was asleep. She looked beautiful when she was asleep. The blankets were down at her knees, yet she lay there in her night clothes, stomach exposed to the cool night air. I chuckled quietly.

"Your going to catch a cold sleeping like this Dagger." I whispered. I pulled the blankets up to her chest and she rolled onto her side. I stayed still, I thought I had woken her up. A sigh escaped from her lips as she muttered something in her sleep. I moved her hair, so that it wasn't splayed across her face, then, put my hand against her cheek. I heard Steiner was coming so I made a run for it. I opened her window, and jumped out of it…hoping that she wouldn't come after me.

**Normal POV**

Dagger woke from her slumber and stretched. She got up from her bed and went to look in Zidane's room. He was always so cute when he slept. _His tail would be wrapped around his waist, and he'd be in the cutest pose ever…and he always looked so peaceful._ She thought, giggling. But when she reached Zidane's room, he wasn't there. "Huh…must've woken up early." She thought aloud. Dagger searched the rooms upstairs, and then searched downstairs.

"Uh…I guess he went to the item shop?" She said, trying not to worry. She looked at the clock.

"5:45..." She muttered.

"Zidane never wakes up this early…let alone goes out in the morning without telling me…I mean…I'm his best friend…" Just then, Steiner walked into the room.

"Hello Princess. Zidane up yet? Most likely not though, he never wakes up until twelve." Dagger put her hands on her hips.

"First, I _hate _being called princess and you know it. My name is Dagger. And second…no Zidane isn't even in his room let alone awake. Did you happen to see him walk out and go to the item store or weapon store…or…SOMETHING!?"

"My mistake Princess…Dagger." Steiner corrected himself.

"No I didn't happen to see Zidane. Wouldn't he have told you if he was going out so early in the morning?"

"Yeah…" Dagger responded. She started towards the stairs, then turned around.

"Oh yeah, one more thing Steiner…can you and Beatrix search Alexandria for him?" She asked. Steiner nodded. Dagger started towards the stairs again and to her room. When she got there, she noticed her window was open.

"Funny…" She said as she walked toward it. "I don't remember opening my window." She looked and saw blue material hanging from the window frame. It was part of Zidane's vest.

"What…did he…" She got dressed and walked downstairs. She had to figure out where Zidane was going…and why he left the castle.

She headed for the door, but was stopped by Steiner.

"Dagger, the royal pendent, it's gone…that thief must have taken it! It's not coincidence that he leaves overnight, and the next morning the pendant isn't' there!" She acted like she didn't hear him and walked out the door. Steiner ran outside and stopped her once again before she got far.

"You're not going anywhere unless you have an escort! Remember what happened last time! You got kidnapped!" Dagger stared at him.

"I went with Zidane for a reason…he didn't kidnap me…" She continued on walking down the path.

"Come along if you want." He ran after her, with Vivi and Eiko following.

It wasn't long before they were out of Alexandria and in an odd little town, where everywhere you turned there was danger. A man grabbed Dagger's arm. She spun around trying to get the person to let go. She kicked and flailed, but the person didn't let go. She finally looked at the man. He was wearing a black trench coat, and Black, baggy, leather pants, along with black boots. The hood of his trench coat came up over his head and covered his face only so his mouth and jaw were showing. Even though she couldn't see his eyes, she could tell he was staring at her.

"What's a pretty little girl like you, doing out here princess?" She glared at him with hate.

"Let go!"

"I don't think I shall…" He looked down and saw a man reaching for Dagger's leg. He kicked the man in the head, hearing him fall to the ground with a thud, unconscious. She looked down. "That was really rude!" The man walked toward a house, dragging Dagger along. Steiner to the rescue! Not really…the man grabbed Steiner's sword before he could try anything.

"Listen, you two…I know who you're looking for, and I know who can help. Let me lead you to them." Vivi and Eiko ran up to the man, following him and the others. He led them into a strange bar and let go of their arms.

"Marcus…" He called to one of the men sitting on the stools. He turned around and Dagger saw it really was Marcus. One of Zidane's closest friends.

A while later…

"Marcus…who's he?" Dagger pointed to the man with the trench coat.

"Oh, he's Zidane's oldest friend. He doesn't really have a name…not that I know of anyway…"

"Oh…" She looked over to him, and saw he was holding something…and he seemed to be saddened. He looked up toward Dagger and smiled slightly. He then turned back down to the jewel he was gazing at.

"He looks depressed." Dagger whispered. "Maybe I can cheer him up?" She walked over to him and sat next to him. He quickly hid the thing he was caressing and turned to her. "Yes?"

"You seem depressed." He shook his head.

"We should get going if you want to find Zidane." She looked at the mysterious man with astonishment.

"How did you know we were looking for him?"

"Zidane has told me much about you. He passed here a few hours before yourself. He said he couldn't stand the castle." Dagger glanced toward the floor.

"Oh…" she muttered.

"Let's go." He whispered. He walked over and tapped Steiner, who was holding the two slumbering children.

"Leave them here, Marcus will take care of them. They'll only be in the way." Steiner nodded. He handed them to Marcus and got up. The knight and Princess followed the hooded man out of the bar, and down the road.

Silence. Dagger couldn't bear it.

"So…where do you live? The man looked to her and seemed to be startled by her question.

"I don't live anywhere. I travel." He replied. His voice was warm, and welcoming. It was hard to explain.

"Oh."

"So…princess…why do they call you Dagger?"

She looked at him.

"Well…When we…Oh, we is Steiner, Zidane, Vivi and I. Anyway…when we were headed for the village of Dali, Zidane suggested a nickname, so no one would suspect I was the princess. He dropped one of his daggers, and thus, my nickname…Dagger." He nodded. An awkward silence fell upon them. This time Steiner was the one who broke the ice.

"So, where are we going?"

"Where Zidane went."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Yes it does." Steiner sighed.

"Princess, may I speak with you in private?" He pulled her behind the man, he didn't seem to mind. "Something seems odd…I don't think we should follow him."

"Nonsense Steiner. He's leading us to Zidane."

"What if he's not? What if he's leading us to…an enemy or something?" The man overheard them.

"Steiner's right." They both looked at him. "What?" Dagger questioned.

"I'm not leading you to Zidane. Not yet. I thought it would be the polite thing to lead you both to an INN before we continue our journey." Dagger smiled.

"How kind of you." She looked over to Steiner.

"I told you he's not our enemy." She walked next to the man and left Steiner confused.

"No you didn't…"

Another awkward silence. "Soo…where exactly is this INN?" Dagger again questioned. "In Dali. It'll take at least fifteen minutes if I can remember how to get there." Even more silence.

"I can't stand silence!" The man half laughed, half sighed.

"What would you like to talk about Princess?"

"…Zidane…how'd you guys meet?" The man recoiled at Zidane's name.

"Well, he was a fair bit younger than he would be now…maybe about twelve or so. He ran into some trouble."

"Trouble?" Dagger interrupted.

"Yes, he somehow ran into a…Behemoth if I'm not mistaken…anyway, since he was in my way, I had to kill the stupid vermin, and take Zidane under my wing for a while, until Baku came to pick him up. You'd think that he wouldn't loose track of his nephew." Dagger's eyes widened.

"Whoa! Rewind and, FREEZE! Zidane is Baku's Nephew??"

"You mean Zidane never told you that?" She shook her head and the hooded man laughed. "Any other questions?"

"Yeah…what's your name?"

"You can call me, Hiryuu." She gave him an odd look.

"That means 'flying dragon'."

"Yes." He replied. "I am called that for my fighting style."

Steiner could be heard mumbling some rather naughty words about Hiryuu.

"Steiner! Don't be offensive!" Steiner looked up.

"Yes princess."

"Oh, no it's fine." Hiryuu said.

"He didn't offend me." He stopped walking.

"Here's Dali. You check in at the INN. Say you are guests of Hiryuu. He'll let you in free of charge."

"What about you? Aren't you going to stay in the room with us?"

"My dear princess, no, I shall not. It would be rather improper. Besides, I have work to do, and even if didn't have work, I don't think your…knight in rusty armor would appreciate me sleeping in the same room as you." He bowed.

"Good night your majesty." He glanced over at Steiner.

"Lord Rusty." He then turned and walked in the other direction, ignoring Steiner's disapproving yells.

"He sounded so like Zidane when he said that…So maybe that's where Zidane got his witty remarks? Yeah, that's it. When he was around Hiryuu, he must've picked it up." Dagger pondered aloud.

"Well, we better check into that INN."

The next morning when Dagger woke, it was only 5:03. She decided to do a little exploring around Dali, since she had not been there since she was with Zidane a few years ago. But as she stepped out of the room, she saw Hiryuu sitting on a chair, asleep. She smiled and quietly tiptoed out of the INN. Dali had become a quiet and peaceful place since the war between her mother and the world. The farmers even started to plant more food, and get rid of the airship port. They decided they didn't need it, and if they did any traveling, they'd walk. After about thirty minutes of aimlessly walking around, she decided to go back to the INN, for Steiner would wake up soon. She walked into the INN, and couldn't help the temptation that overcame her. She wanted to see what was under Hiryuu's hood. She tiptoed over to him, not making a sound, and carefully reached for the black, leather hood that covered his eyes and half his nose. A hand stopped her from reaching her destination. "Don't…even…think…about…it!" A voice hissed, that was soon tagged as Hiryuu's. He had woken up.

"I-I'm sorry…I was just curious…" He glared at her, his grip on her arm tightening.

"Curiosity killed the cat…Never, EVER attempt this AGAIN. Understand?" She nodded frantically. He let go of her arm and turned the other way. She rubbed the spot he had hurt her. She then looked up at him.

After what seemed like hours, she walked over to him and hugged him.

"I really am sorry…I won't do it again." He couldn't help but smile.

"You better not." His voice had a hint of tenderness in it.

"I won't. Promise!" She snuggled against him, burying her head in his chest. Bad idea.

"PRINCESS! NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

"Gee, I wonder if Steiner's up?" She said sarcastically. She broke the hug and turned to the annoying knight.

"I was hugging Hiryuu." She turned back to Hiryuu, motioning to him. She looked at him, and he seemed confused.

"We…should get going…" He said slowly. He then turned, and walked out the door.

"Let's go." Dagger said, following him. Steiner continued his naughty words from the previous day, and followed the princess.

"Hey, Hiryuu! Hold up!" She had to run to catch up to him. "I have some more questions!" He chuckled.

"Fire away."

"Okay! So, how old are you?" Hiryuu sighed. "Older than you."

"Okay…so…have you had any girlfriends?"

"Yes…"

"Do you have one now?"

"Princess…I don't like where this is going…" She stayed quiet for a while.

"Sorry…but can you at least answer the question?"

"She's a girl…and she's my friend." Then…silence. Only thing that could be heard was the muttering coming from Steiner's mouth. Hiryuu had stopped.

"Lord Steiner…quiet please."

"WHY? SO YOU CAN THINK OF MORE WAYS TO HARASS THE PRINCESS!?" Came a loud reply from the agitated knight.

"Steiner, I have not in any way harassed the princess. Now quiet!"

"NO!"

"Please, I need to hear!" He yelled in a hushed tone. That quickly, a claw came swooping down, and struck Hiryuu, forcing him to the ground. He was writhing in pain, in a puddle of the blood coming from the wound the monster had inflicted on him.

"Hiryuu!" Dagger yelled to the man on the ground. She began to run to him, but was stopped by the beast, face to face.

"Oh…my…" She began to back up slowly, then her pace quickened as the monster came after her. Seeing as how Steiner was pretty much useless at this point, Hiryuu had to defeat the atrocious being by himself. He slowly got up, and took out his weapon.

"Scan." he murmured weakly. A barely visible screen appeared in front of him with words on it. 'Bestiary. Name: Stilvia. Level: 67. HP: 21906. Immune against: --- Weak against: Water.' The screen vanished.

"Okay…here we go…" He leapt toward the Stilvia. Counter Attack. -5600. Lucky 7's. -7777. Dragon's Flight. -3000. Final Attack. Unity. -9999. Stilvia has been defeated.

Dagger and Steiner stood with their jaws wide open.

"You really _do _look like a flying dragon when you fight…so graceful, but powerful." Dagger stuttered.

"You saved me." She ran over to him and hugged him.

"You saved me…you care. Thank you…"She buried her head in his chest and hugged him tighter.

I…I think I'm in love with you." She felt Hiryuu stiffen up.

"No…" he whispered.

"No…you can't love me…you can't…" He grabbed her arms and tore her away from him. "No…never." He brought his hands up to his head, clutching it firmly. "No…no…." His whimpers and whispers caught Dagger's attention.

"Hiryuu…why are you crying?" She hugged him again, and immediately Hiryuu seized her arms and tore her away yet again.

"Hiryuu?" He began to shake his head.

"No…you….no….l-love…NO!" He turned the opposite direction and began run as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Hiryuu…"

**Hiryuu POV **(for a short part)

_No…no…this wasn't supposed to happen! She can't fall in love with me! _I ran. I don't know how long I had been running, or how far I ran…I didn't really care either. I just wanted to get away from her.

"She can't love me…no…" He slowed to a jog, then he stopped altogether. "No…"

**Normal POV**

He collapsed, sobbing.

"She….can't…she….no….." Was the only thing he could say. He kept repeating those words for sometime. He got up and sat on a nearby rock. Finally he spoke, the sentence coming out in short bursts between his sobs.

"S-She…She l-loves….me…" He reached into his trench coat and pulled out the jewel from before. He held it in his hands staring at it, his thumb brushing over the edge of it. "Princess…" he had to blink to keep the tears from falling down his face again. He clutched the jewel tightly. He stared at it in disgust. He lifted it above his head. He then brought his arm in front of him quickly and let go of the magnificent object.

"YOU TRAITOR!" The jewel landed on the other side of the road. He got up and walked back to the two adults that he had left.


	2. The Secret Reveled

**Summary:**** "I was getting tired of living life in the castle. It was the same thing everyday. There was no adventure anymore. I guess that's why I decided to leave…"**

**Disclaimer: Okay…I admit it…all characters in this story belong to Squaresoft. Except Hiryuu…I made him up. **

**Rated: T for language and violence**

Ch. 2

"Hiryuu, are you alright?" Steiner asked the hooded man that was walking ahead of them.

"I'm fine. Just hurry up." It hadn't sounded like him. It came out bitter, and filled with hate, instead of his usual kind, tender voice.

"Hiryuu…I'm sorry I told you that I love you…I didn't think it would offend you." Dagger said, touching his shoulder. He jerked away from her.

"Well it did." came his hissing reply. Silence. Dagger couldn't bear it, but she didn't dare speak to Hiryuu, in fear she may anger him again. _Strike two…if I anger him again…he may stop helping us…_ She thought. They came to a crossroads. A sign there said ßLindblum

Memoria à.

"Lindblum! That's where Zidane is headed!"

"No. Memoria." Dagger stared at him.

"Memoria?"

"Yes." Hiryuu said in a monotone voice.

"He'll be going to see his dead brother. He was buried here." They took the road to the left. It seemed as though they had been walking for an eternity. It wasn't long, though, before they felt the ground beneath them quake.

"Oh…no…" Hiryuu muttered.

"Oh Zidane…I knew you'd be coming back soon." a voice rang out.

"Zidane? He's here?" Dagger questioned. A giant sword came from nowhere and was aimed for Dagger.

"Move it!" Hiryuu pushed her away, and the sword went through his stomach. His eyes widened.

"Well I was going for the princess…but a genome will do just as well. Right Zidane?"

"That's not Zidane!" Dagger yelled. "His name is Hiryuu!"

"That's where you wrong little girl." The beast showed itself. It walked over to Hiryuu.

"I thought you may have wanted these back, Zidane." the disgusting monster showed Zidane's clothes to Hiryuu.

"Or maybe this? I saw you throw it on the road."

"The royal pendant!" Steiner yelled.

"What is the meaning of this! Let Hiryuu go! Can't you see he's hurt!?" Dagger screamed.

"He is not Hiryuu. He's not even half of what Hiryuu was!" The monstrosity lifted up the sword with it still in Hiryuu, and then lifted the hood blocking Hiryuu's face. Dagger gasped.

"Zidane…"

There was Zidane. Struggling to get free from the sword that was through his stomach. "Zidane…" The monster wrenched it's sword from the teenage boy, letting him fall to the ground with a sickening crack. Dagger stared at Zidane, not able to take her eyes off of him. He was hurt, but she couldn't find the strength to go over and help him. She stood frozen. Zidane began to get up, obviously in pain. A few of his ribs had been broken, and there was a pool of blood on the ground from the wound in his stomach where the blood was cascading. Teeth clenched, he was now on his feet, barely able to keep his balance.

"Sc-Scan…" The screen appeared again. 'Bestiary. Name: Hades. Level: 92. HP: 55535. Immune against: Earth, Shadow. Weak against: Holy' It vanished again. "Ugh…" _I have to do something quick…or else I'll be a goner and Hades will attack Dagger again. Alright…Let's try this… _Zidane thought. He leapt toward the hideous thing. Lucky 7's. -777. Steal. Stole Reflect Ring. Steal. Stole Robe of the Lords. Hades uses Judgment Sword. -5000HP from Zidane. Mug. Stole Battle Boots and 500 gil. Thievery. -7000. Defend. Hades uses Doomsday. -2000HP from Zidane.

Zidane was now on his knees, and with 1HP left, he'd be dead on Hades' next attack. _Damn…I didn't even make a dent in his HP… _

Zidane goes into Trance and uses Grand Lethal. -4000. Zidane's vision began to get blurry. Hades began to attack, but Zidane fell to the ground. Hades laughed.

"Poor little brat. I thought he would've put up an effort…apparently I was wrong. I didn't even have to use my finishing attack."

"Zidane…?" Dagger took a step forward.

"Don't bother. He's dead."

"No, he can't be…he had HP left…"

"Princess, do you see that blood on the ground? That would be his blood. He bled to death." A flash of black ran by Dagger and the lifeless body of Zidane.

"Holy Flare." A deep voice came. A white dragon made completely of holy appeared. It was a summon. Instead of fire, the dragon spit Holy magic. -99,999. Overkill. Hades has been defeated.

When the white light had vanished, the black being was gone. As well as Hades, and Zidane's body. Dagger turned, and walked away.

"Princess, we should at least look for Zidane's body…"

"NO! It's obvious he didn't want us around. Why else would he lead us to Hades?" She walked.

**Zidane POV**

I opened my eyes and saw a man in a black trench coat.

"Hello Hiryuu. I suppose you revived me?" He nodded.

"You really shouldn't have. Dagger's probably so POed at me…" Hiryuu sat next to me.

"Tell me what happened. From the beginning." I looked down.

"Well…after I talked to you about Dagger and the castle…"

**Dagger POV**

"I can't believe he left the castle! I can't believe he would lie to us like that! Most of all, I can't believe that he would try and KILL US!" I yelled at the top of my lungs while I walked.

"Maybe he wasn't trying to kill us…" Steiner tried to convince me.

"Good riddance! Who needs that…that…menace!" My accent was coming back. It always did when I got angry enough.

"You really shouldn't say that." The voice was back. I turned around, and sure enough, there was a man with a black trench coat on, a hood covering his eyes and nose.

"You'll regret it." I snorted.

"So you didn't die, Zidane."

"What?" came his reply.

"Drop the act Zidane! Steiner and I saw you with your hood down!" I walked over to him and was ready to hit him with everything I had. Summons, magic, attacks. I raised my fist and struck him in the face. Again, and again. I raised my hand to do it again, but his stopped me. He pulled down his hood.

"Do I** look** like Zidane to you!?" His words were laced with venom.

"Who…Who are you?" I asked.

"Hiryuu." I looked at him for a while. After a moment or two, I outstretched my hand and uttered "Scan." This time the screen appeared in front of me. 'Bestiary. Name: Hiryuu. Level: 99. HP: 999,999. Immune Against: Petrify, Trouble, Berserk, Slow, Vanish, Poison, Zombie, Stop, Heat, Mini, Silence, Death, Darkness, Confusion, Sleep, Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Holy, Shadow, Thunder, Ice, Freeze. Weak Against:--.' The screen vanished.

"You…are Hiryuu."

"Yes." He said.

"I must talk to you about Zidane." I turned.

"No. I do not want to talk about him, see him, or hear about him." He grabbed my shirt, and pulled me up to his level. "Put me down! You can't treat me like this, I'm the princess!" He scowled at me.

"Look, Girl, I could care less that you're a princess. I wouldn't care if you were a queen. To me, your just stuck up. You have no idea what it's like to be Zidane, do you? While you were in your castle, and had everything you wanted…Zidane had nothing. He had to steal to get even the most basic things, like a meal. Then, ten years later, he met you, and moved into the castle. But, afterward, he found that he couldn't go anywhere without an escort, and when he did get somewhere, the knights from the castle would take him away, because they didn't approve of the people he met with. So he found the most suitable way to get away from the escorts and lack of freedom. To run away. He took your 'precious pendant' so he could remember you. Then he dressed up as me, in case you came after him. When you found him, he was planning on telling you when you got to Memoria, but then Hades interrupted." I glared at him.

"Why would he wait until Memoria to tell us?" Hiryuu set me down. I sighed in relief, glad that he didn't rip my very expensive shirt.

"Well?" He turned his back to me.

"Why don't you ask Zidane?" He began to walk away.

"Hey, wait you come back here!" I yelled out suddenly.

"I'm not through with you!" It didn't even phase him. He simply replied

"Yes, but I'm through with you."

I stood there, mouth agape. I tried to say a comeback, but no words were coming out of my mouth.

"Uggghh!" I stomped my foot and went to find Zidane.

"Come on Steiner…if we ever want to get out of here, we have to find him."

VampirePrincess: Review please...oh and..don't kill me...


	3. Happy Ever After?

**Summary:**** "I was getting tired of living life in the castle. It was the same thing everyday. There was no adventure anymore. I guess that's why I decided to leave…"**

**Disclaimer: Okay…I admit it…all characters in this story belong to Squaresoft. Except Hiryuu…I made him up. **

**Rated: T for language and violence**

Ch. 3

**Zidane POV**

I sat, thinking for a moment, about all that had happened. In two short days, I had ran from paradise, lied to the love of my life, and now…I was sitting in a cave. _Oh yeah…I screwed up. _I opened my eyes, only to see eternal darkness. I guess you could say I was surrounded in my own depression, and the fact that I was in a dark cave, a very dark cave mind you, wasn't helping.

_**Alone…for awhile…**_

_**I've been searching through the dark…**_

_**For traces of the love you left, inside my lonely heart…**_

I heard echoing footsteps. I closed my eyes again. I didn't need to see, I already knew who it was.

"Garnet," I whispered. Silence.

"Why'd you leave?" came a soft whisper, carried by a slight breeze.

_**To weave by picking up, the pieces that remain,**_

_**Melodies of Life,**_

_**Love's lost refrain…**_

Even more silence.

"Tell me!" She screamed. "Why! Why did you leave! You had everything you wanted!" her voice echoed off the solid walls of the cave.

"I most certainly did not." I said with a newfound power. I never would have spoken back to her like that. She bit her lip to refrain from saying something she'd regret.

"I couldn't see my friends, your stupid knights would always drag me back to the castle every time I went to see them. I couldn't even set foot outside the castle without an escort following me everywhere. I'm not used to that Garnet." I sighed. "But…that's not really what I wanted…I guess. Your parental guardian kept searching for suitors for you…and…you flirted with each of them…then, when I was acting as Hiryuu, you said that you loved me…"

She interrupted. "I said I loved you, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't know it was me. You thought I was Hiryuu. You said you loved Hiryuu. Not me. Anyway…I don't know. I guess I got jealous…all those other guys you flirted with…I guess I just wished that I was one of them. Do you remember when we first met, Garnet?" She nodded.

"I was flirting with you…remember? I was hoping you would return it…but…" He paused.

_**Our paths they did cross,**_

_**Now I can not say just why,**_

_**We met, we laughed, we held on fast,**_

_**And then we said goodbye…**_

"Then you left to become Queen…and I felt like I couldn't take it…that's part of the reason I left…I felt…I dunno…Shut out." Sunlight peeking out from an unknown place reflected off of tears that were hitting the ground a few feet away from me. "And…Remember how we used to go on adventures all the time? It was so much fun…but…then the fun stopped…and we got into the routine of getting ourselves overscheduled instead of getting ourselves in trouble like we did when we were sixteen.I was getting tired of living life in the castle.It was the same thing everyday. There was no adventure anymore. I guess that's why I decided to leave…as well." I heard her hit the cold, hard ground.

"Why didn't you tell me…?"

_**And who'll hear the echoes of stories never told?**_

_**Let them ring…**_

_**Out loud, Til they unfold…**_

"I tried. So many times…but you refused to listen."

She was crying. "I…I'm so stupid…If I had stopped playing Princess for long enough to listen to what you were saying…this wouldn't have happened."

"Princess…I'm sorry…but I can't return to the castle."

She began to cry harder, and it killed me inside.

"I…understand."

"I'll miss you. I hope you forgive me…Garnet." I got up from where I was sitting, and walked past her, slowly, heading for the entrance of the cave.

"Zidane…" she whispered. I heard her get up.

_**In my dearest Memories…**_

_**I see you reaching out to me…**_

_**Though your gone,**_

_**I still believe that you can call…**_

_**Out my name…**_

I stopped. She didn't answer for a while, and I thought about starting to leave again.

_**A voice from the past…**_

_**Joining yours and mine**_

_**Adding up the layers, of harmony…**_

_**And so it goes, on and on…**_

_**Melodies of life, to the sky beyond the flying birds…**_

_**Forever and beyond**_

Then, finally,

"It's Dagger."

My eyes widened immediately. I spun around so fast that my ponytail hit the side of my face. She still wanted to keep my nickname for her. I looked at her, my eyes watering. I stood for a moment, still trying to register in my mind what had just currently happened. I walked in her direction, and stopped when I got to her. She was still facing where I had just a moment ago. I lifted my arms, and stopped momentarily, not knowing what to do with them. Soon though, I slowly wrapped my arms around her shoulders affectionately. She stood, nonmoving. I hugged her tighter. She then, did something I didn't expect her to. She hugged me back.

_**So far, and away…**_

_**See the bird as it flies by…**_

_**Gliding through the shadows of the clouds up in the sky…**_

_**I've laid my memories, and dreams upon those wings…**_

_**See them now, and see what tomorrow brings…**_

_**In your dearest memories…**_

_**Do you remember loving me?**_

_**Was it fate, that brings us close and now leaves…**_

_**Me behind…?**_

**Normal POV**

The two energetic teenagers burst out of the cave, laughing uncontrollably, running as fast as they could. They flew past Steiner, who was patiently waiting a few feet away from the cave.

"Come on Steiner, hurry up! We'll leave ya behind if you don't!" Zidane called out.

Steiner's eyes followed them, then he turned his head back to the cave. Then he looked back over his shoulder, twice, and realized that it was the Princess and Zidane that had just ran by him.

"Wah! Wait up!" He chased frantically after the 'children' as he called them. They however, didn't slow down. They did exactly the opposite, laughing harder. Zidane reached his hand back to Dagger, encouraging her to run faster so that Steiner couldn't catch them. She gladly took his hand, and when she did, it felt like Zidane was dragging her along. The muscles in her legs worked harder as she tried to keep up with Zidane. Soon, they were miles along, just from running, at were at the town where they had left Vivi and Eiko. Vivi peered around the corner of the building to see Zidane and Dagger waving at him. He jumped out from his hiding place and began to wave back. Drops of golden sunshine peeked out from the usually misty, damp, dark sky that seemed to loom over the town. Eiko, now standing next to Vivi, looked up at the sky and smiled. Now that things were right again, it seemed the entire world was starting to get brighter. Zidane and Dagger had soon passed the two pre-teens, who had joined in running from Steiner shortly after, not far behind the Genome and Princess. Steiner was still far behind the four, trying his hardest to catch up, but it's not very easy running when you're wearing heavy armor. A few miles more, and they were back in Alexandria, running towards the castle. Their castle. The teenagers were the first to burst through the doors…ready to handle whatever life threw at them…


	4. Epilouge

**Summary:**** "I was getting tired of living life in the castle. It was the same thing everyday. There was no adventure anymore. I guess that's why I decided to leave…"**

**Disclaimer: Okay…I admit it…all characters in this story belong to Squaresoft. Except Hiryuu…I made him up. ****Melodies of Life was written by Nobu Umatsu and I do not in any way own it. Darn.**

**Rated: T for language and violence **

Epilogue

"Don't stop!"

"Yeah, what happened Hiryuu-sensei?"

Hiryuu chuckled at the children around him.

"Sorry. That's all for now. If you want to know more, why don't you go to the castle and see for yourself what happened?" Hiryuu watched as all his students ran to the castle, to ask the queen questions about the story he was just telling them. He smiled. You really had to be there to understand the emotion between them.

Alexandria was soon filled with running children. When they were all at the door of the gigantic, stone castle, a little girl in a pink dress with short, blond pigtails knocked on the huge door. A man about the age of twenty-three came to the door. He was tall, had blond hair that was tied back into a messy ponytail, and had bright blue eyes. He wore casual clothes, a plain white tee shirt and simple blue jeans. The man looked around and muttered.

"Huh…I could've sworn that someone knocked on the door…" He looked down and saw the small swarm of children.

"Oh, there you are! What can I do for you young ones today?" he smiled brightly.

"Can we speak to the king?"

"Your looking at him." he bowed. "King Zidane, at your service." The children stared in awe.

"You're the king?" Zidane nodded.

"But you look nothing like a king. Where's your crown? Or your fancy clothes?"

Zidane chuckled. "Not all kings are fancy crown wearing kings. Now, what did you really come here to ask? Because…I hope you didn't just come here to ridicule me." he grinned to let them know he wasn't being serious.

"Are you and Garnet still together?"

"How'd you guys meet?"

"Were you on any more adventures after the whole running away incident?"

The children all were asking various questions at the same time, so there was no way Zidane could answer any of them, let alone understand them.

"One at a time please…First off, Garnet and I met way back when I was sixteen…" The children all gathered around, expecting an exciting story. "But, that's a story for another time." The children groaned in disappointment. "As for asking about the time I ran from the castle…I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Hiryuu was telling you that story…am I correct?" The children nodded. Zidane opened his mouth to talk, but was interrupted.

"Dear, have you seen where I put Kazuma's blanket?" A beautiful woman came into view, holding a baby.

"Yeah, I think Steiner has it…for some…unknown reason."

"You didn't ask him?"

"I didn't wanna know why a grown man wanted a baby's blanket…that's just creepy…" The kids stared at the couple talking. Finally the woman looked down to them.

"Hello, I'm Queen Garnet. I see that you've met my husband, Zidane."

The children nodded.

"So you ARE still together!" One shouted out.

They both chuckled.

"Would you like to see the baby?" Garnet asked politely. The children nodded anxiously, all pushing and shoving to see the little boy. She walked out to a nearby bench and showed her son to the children, listening to them all cooing and fawning over the two month old baby. Zidane stood, leaning against the door gazing at Garnet and Kazuma lovingly.

_**If I shall leave this lonely world behind…**_

_**Your voice will remember our melody…**_

_**Now I know we'll carry on…**_

_**Melodies of Life,**_

_**Come circle round and grow deep, in our hearts…**_

_**As long as we remember.**_

Zidane smiled slightly.

"My Dagger."

VampirePrincess: Phawww…cute lovey dovey mushy ending! Aw. Okay…now see that little button…click it and review! Also…I think I may have spelled Nobu's name wrong…sorry!


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